CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just a day after hiring Dave Canales as the new head coach for the Carolina Panthers, two members of the coaching staff are already being let go.
ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter first shared the news on X that Chris Tabor, who served as the interim head coach and special teams coordinator for the Panthers, will not be retained even though two years remain on Tabor’s contract. He is free to seek employment elsewhere. WCNC Charlotte sports reporter and anchor Ashley Stroehlein also confirmed this with a league source. She also learned that offensive line coach James Campen was also let go.
While some changes to coaching staff are to be expected when a new head coach is brought in, both Campen and Tabor were part of the Panthers staff under Matt Rhule’s tenure with the team and were kept on by Frank Reich during his 11-month term as head coach in 2023. Reich was fired in November 2023 after the team’s season record hit 1-10.
The 2023-24 season for Carolina was notably dismal, seeing the team ranked dead last across the NFL and finishing with the league’s worst record yet with back-to-back shutout losses to boot. The team began cleaning house earlier in January 2024, firing general manager Scott Fitterer at the top of the month.
Several potential head coaches were interviewed, ranging from the Panthers’ own defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to Asheville native Ben Johnson with the Detroit Lions. Even Raheem Morris, who has won two Super Bowls during stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams, was among those interviewed by Carolina.